In 1942 July, Japanese forces occupied north-east of New Guinea. Their aim was to make their way overland from the tracks of Kokoda to capture Port Moresby which would enable them to control New Guinea and a base to attack Australia.
Brief information
The Kokoda trail – 96km narrow path in New Guinea connecting Port Moresby to the village of Kokoda. The Kokoda trail was a river of sticky mud, extremely slippery, surrounded by steep mountains and jungles. Due to the jungle being dense much of it can only be travelled on foot, which meant that all supplies and heavy equipment had to be carried. It was difficult for both armies and harder and for the Japanese because they were bringing their equipment from ships and they can only attack via the…show more content… One the historians said there was "excessive mythology about the Kokoda story'' and Professor Horner questioned the significance of Kokoda in the context of the wider battle for the south-west Pacific and the war overall.
One 92 year old man (Bede Tongs) that was actually in the war said that he and his mates had no doubt that they were fighting to save Australia. According to www.news.com.au Mr. Tongs said the admission that the Japanese had no plans to invade Australia was probably a face saving exercise. He also questioned when Australian commander Sir Thomas Blamey knew about Japanese plans. We were fighting for Australia. Our friends died for Australia,'' he said.
Opinion
The Kokoda war is a unique one for the Australians but not so much for the Japanese. Many Japanese people in japan have no idea that they had a war against the Australian diggers. But if you were to ask somebody in the streets of people about the Kokoda campaign against the Japanese, most likely they would know about it. The Australians did get lucky with the support of the Americans which led to an Australian victory because we never know what would of happened if that wasn’t the case with the Japanese so close to port Moresby they could see
